Three Things Your College Bound Child Needs to Leave Behind

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Do you have a child getting ready to head off to college?  Whether your child goes away to school or commutes from home, don’t let them start the school year without leaving behind these three documents:

Medical Power of Attorney.  If your child is over the age of 18, you no longer have the right to speak to their physicians, or make medical decisions for them.  If your child has an accident or becomes seriously ill at school and is hospitalized, medical personnel will not discuss your child’s medical condition or treatment with you without authorization. Have your child sign a medical power of attorney. Commonly referred to as a “patient advocate designation,” your child can appoint you to speak with doctors and make medical treatment decisions for them in the event they cannot do so themselves.

HIPAA Authorization.  Have your child sign a separate HIPAA authorization.   A medical power of attorney will only help you and your child if your child is incapacitated AND in a hospital or similar facility.  There may be situations where your child is either not incapacitated or is not hospitalized, but you still need to speak to medical providers on your child’s behalf regarding treatment he or she is receiving.  A HIPAA authorization will enable you to talk to them or obtain medical records and other information regarding your child’s medical condition.  You may not be able to make treatment decisions for your child, but you can at least monitor their care.  Remember, even though you are the parent, medical providers will not speak or release information to you without your child’s prior consent, regardless of your child’s medical condition.

Durable Power of Attorney. Finally, have your child sign a durable power of attorney. Parents of college students have all heard the privacy speech from school administrators – “Due to federal privacy regulations, we cannot discuss anything regarding your student without prior written authorization” – and they mean it. In order for you to discuss a tuition or dorm bill, dispute a lab fee, or discuss any of your child’s financial or other affairs with any third party, you need written authorization. That’s where the durable power of attorney comes in to play.

Under a durable power of attorney, your child can appoint you as their agent to handle their personal and financial and other non-medical affairs, whether they are incapacitated or not. Everything from banking and bill paying to tuition or room and board issues can be handled by you as your child’s agent. If your child becomes ill or has an accident while at school, as your child’s agent you will be able to keep their affairs in order until they regain the ability to do so.

Make sure you and your child are prepared for the coming school year by making sure they leave behind a medical power of attorney, HIPAA authorization, and durable power of attorney.  Good luck!

Does your student need these documents?  Give me a call.  I can help.

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Critical Estate Planning Steps for College Students

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College students are getting ready to head back to school. Whether your child goes away to school or commutes from home, don’t let them start the school year without taking these critical estate planning steps:

Have your student sign a medical power of attorney. If your child has an accident or becomes seriously ill, unless your child is under age 18, medical personnel will not discuss your child’s medical condition or treatment with you without authorization. Commonly referred to as a “patient advocate designation,” your child can appoint you to speak with doctors and make medical treatment decisions for them in the event they cannot do so themselves. It’s a good idea for the school’s medical clinic to have a copy on file, too.

Have your child sign a separate HIPAA authorization. Even with a valid medical power of attorney, medical providers may refuse to release your child’s medical information or speak to you regarding their medical condition. Doctors, hospitals, and other medical facilities fear the legal repercussions of unauthorized disclosures of one’s medical information. Even though you are the parent, they will not speak or release information to you without your child’s prior consent. I have handled cases where family members were forced to petition the courts to gain access to their student’s medical information in an emergency.

Finally, have your student sign a durable power of attorney. Parents of college students have all heard the speech from school administrators – “Due to federal privacy regulations, we cannot discuss anything regarding your student without prior written authorization” – and they mean it. To discuss a tuition or dorm bill, dispute a lab fee, or discuss any of your child’s financial affairs with any third party, you need written authorization. That’s where the durable power of attorney comes in to play.

Under a durable power of attorney, you child can appoint you as their agent to handle their personal and financial affairs if they can’t themselves. Everything from banking and bill paying to tuition or room and board issues can be handled by you as your child’s agent. If your child becomes ill or has an accident while away at school, as your child’s agent you will be able to access bank accounts, make sure their bills are paid, and keep their affairs in order until they regain the ability to do so.

This is a very exciting time for college students and parents. Make sure your student is fully prepared by making sure they give you their medical power of attorney, HIPAA authorization, and durable power of attorney.

Is MyDirectives The Next Big Thing In Medical Directive Planning?

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“MyDirectives,” a service of ADVault, Inc., is touted as the first entirely online advance medical care planning service available to consumers to voice record and store advance directives for medical care so that medical professionals can not only read, but also hear your instructions and wishes concerning medical care and treatment in your own voice when you can’t express them yourself.

Through digital directives that include written documents, audio and even video messages, MyDirectives is giving people confidence that their voices will be heard in a medical emergency.

MyDirectives is aiming to transform the doctor-patient relationship by helping you create, store, update, and share medical directives to and from anywhere in the world. You can create them from the comfort and privacy of your own home with input from your family before you have an emergency. Your directives are stored electronically with MyDirectives and can be shared with doctors, health plans, and hospitals 24/7. Hospitals that link to MyDirectives can access your directives at the time of your admission.

MyDirectives makes it easy to create an emergency medical directive. The site takes you through a series of questions covering topics such as your values and treatment goals, types of treatment you want and don’t want, and who you want to represent you if you cannot make medical decision for yourself. You can choose from a selection of the most common answers or answer questions in your own words, with as much detail as you wish. You can even add your own video responses. You can edit them and access them at any time from anywhere. Your medical providers can only access the most recent version of your directives.

To learn more, or create your own digital directives, go to the MyDirectives website here.

Estate Planning For The Here and Now

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Estate planning clients tend to focus on the “when I die” issues when tending to their estate planning. However, if all you have done is sign a will and trust to order your affairs and distribute your property after you die, your estate plan is seriously deficient. Death is a certainty, but incapacity at some point during your lifetime is highly probable. And failing to plan to maintain continuity and management of your medical care and financial affairs during a period of incapacity can have disastrous consequences.

You must include tools in your estate plan to allow others to handle your personal and financial affairs during times when you cannot do so yourself. If you don’t, a court will be required to appoint a guardian to handle decisions concerning your person, and a conservator to manage your assets. This can be a time-consuming, expensive, and burdensome proposition.

So, what should you include in your estate plan to protect you during a period of incapacity? At a minimum, a durable power of attorney, a medical power of attorney, and a HIPAA medical authorization. Let’s look at each:

Durable power of attorney. Under a durable power of attorney, you appoint an agent to handle your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. Everything from banking and bill paying to preparing and filing tax returns on your behalf can be handled by your agent. Your agent will be able to access bank accounts, make sure your bills are paid, and keep your affairs in order until you regain the ability to do so. A durable power of attorney can be designed to take effect the moment you sign it, or at some point in the future if and when you become incapacitated.

Medical Durable Power of Attorney. Commonly referred to as a “patient advocate designation,” Michigan law allows you to appoint someone (your “patient advocate”) to make medical treatment decisions for you in the event you cannot make them for yourself. Your patient advocate can access medical records, talk to your doctors and make treatment decisions for you as long as you can’t make them for yourself. It may contain expressions of your desires concerning medical treatment at the point where your condition is such that there is no longer any prospect of a recovery, such as at the end-stage of a terminal illness. These instructions will ensure that you live your last days in dignity and peace.

HIPAA medical authorization. With a HIPAA authorization, you designate a person with whom medical providers can share your medical information and discuss your medical care. Even with a valid health care power of attorney, a medical provider may refuse to release your medical information to another person. They may refer to privacy restrictions contained in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Doctors, hospitals, and other medical facilities fear the legal repercussions of unauthorized disclosures of one’s medical information. So without written authorization from you, they may not speak with family members, even a spouse or a child, or release medical information to them.

Don’t neglect the here and now in your estate plan. Adding a durable power of attorney, medical power of attorney, and a HIPAA authorization to your existing estate plan will give you protection during your lifetime when you are most vulnerable.